5/23, Second Life Art Show


Museum of Robots Show 2, originally uploaded by Josh Ellingson.

The Museum of Robot Art is hosting an exhibit of my work in Second Life, the popular virtual community. I'll be attending the opening (yeah, I know, it's awesome!) so if you are about Second Life, please stop in and say hello. I'm told that there will be an audio tour, refreshments, and a complimentary virtual poster for those that stop in for the opening.
Museum of Robots Show 1

Bots, Bugs, and Beasts
the art of Joshua Ellingson
Opening Reception May 23rd, 9am (PST)
(my Second Life name is "Grover Zelin")

There will be pics and video online at:
http://museumofrobots.com/

Review- Gary Baseman, Dying of Thirst

Here's of my my latest reviews, from the Pages of Hi-Fructose Magazine:

Dying of Thirst
New Paintings by Gary Baseman
44 pages, Hardcover
Last Gasp

I imagine a scenario in which an uninitiated bookstore employee accidentally mis-shelves "Dying of Thirst, New Works by Gary Baseman" in the children's book section of a Borders bookstore somewhere in Omaha. Hordes of eager children flock to page through horrifyingly amusing pictures of naked, bloody children, ghosts, bats and goo while screaming parents yank them away, cursing and sweating, and all the while formulating the story they will relay to the jury. It's a rare and generous thing to get such large reproductions in a catalog of such a small show but it makes the book look startlingly thin. You could almost hang the thing on the wall with a few thumbtacks, dim the lights, and serve your own wine and cheese. This body of work does have some surprises, even for those fully marinated in the juices of "pervasive" art. Baseman starts with pencil studies on weathered German book pages and moves on to monochromatic appropriation of pin-up girl photo outtakes. All of this culminates with full landscape compositions incorporating many of the characters and poses in the previous sections. Thematically, the body of work is tied together with dripping, flesh-toned ambivalence. Gone are the hapless dunces, and other sorry saps who may have stumbled into the scenes. There are no innocent bystanders to latch onto in this collection. Everyone is guilty. Other highlights include floating intestine clouds, tiny skeletons, and creepy arms where there ought to be feet. Dying of Thirst is the latest collection of Baseman's work, published by Last Gasp, and serves as the catalog for his 2007 show, "I Melt in Your Presence", at Modernism Gallery in San Francisco. Look for it at your local bookstore. Be sure to sneak one into the kiddie section, crack open a Clamato, and watch the madness begin.

Prints Available for May 2009

Cthulhu Print Detail 1

Many of you have written in to ask about artwork for sale. So,by popular demand, I've relaunched the Store section of my site. The new store has been streamlined and includes a "lightbox" style viewing mode that I think you'll really like. The current selection of prints will be exclusively available for the month of May. Get them while they are hot because every month I'll be rotating out prints with a fresh batch. Follow the link below to see what's available for May 2009: http://www.joshuaellingson.com/ellingson_store/

4/28 6pm-10pm Sketch Tuesday @ 111 Minna

Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing SquidI'll be a guest sketcher at 111 Minna Gallery this Tuesday for "Sketch Tuesdays". There's no cover but bring loads of cash for great deals on original art by your favorite Bay Area artists. Here's a partial list from Fecalface.com

More infos at the Fecal Face Calendar.

PS-That's my old pal Ben Collison, with the No-Guns hoodie in the pic.

Robots, Beards, and Schlitz. Back from PDX.

Justin and His Banner

I look for many excuses to visit my friends in Portland, OR, but no reason is more compelling than the Stumptown Comics Fest. Part of the reason is that many of my friends from other parts of the great northern expanse make the migration downstream to PDX for the event. It's like a huge bonus to see them and be a comic nerd too. Pictured above is Justin Nitz, hanging his banner for the Mini-Comics Dumptruck. The Dumptruck is a podcast/art group for those that are driven to create beautiful tiny works of narrative pictures.

Kids Love ComicsThe Line OutsideThe weather was unbelievably nice in Portland. Apparently they were due for some nice weather too, so everyone seemed in good spirits. Maybe that had something to due with the enormous turnout for the event. I hadn't planned on tabling, but with all that good-time art-loving energy flowing, I had to set up and make some robots. People seemed very receptive to my small robot army. I'll have to remember this for my next invasion.

Dealing Robots on the Sly

 

 

 

 

After the Fest on Saturday, Cosmic Monkey Comics threw an afterparty. The party is a Stumptown Comics tradition, with art battles, dancing, snacks, and booze. I got to catch up with Paul Friedrich, the creator of Onion Head Monster. Paul was my neighbor at the 2006 Comic Con Int'l and he's just a hands-down awesome guy.

My Giant Suite at the Double Tree, Lloyd Center

Here's a little travel tip for those of you Portland bound. Opt for the suite. It's huge. My room featured two baths, a dining table for eight, three TVs (one over the hot tub), a day bed, a bedroom, three balconies, and a vanity. To be honest, the room terrified me but it was nice to be a high roller for a night.

Matt and Tori

Good buddy and fellow Local 303 member, Matt Delight made it up to the fest as well. It was so nice to have a no-pressure comics convention experience with good friends around. I soaked in so much food, sunshine, and good spirits that I had to take my shoes off just to be comfortable. Thanks for the recharge, PDX. I'll be back.

Here are the bulk of my photos from the trip on Flickr:

Kids love comics The Line Outside the Stumptown Comics Fest Camilla d'Errico Justin and his Banner Big Illustration Party Time 2 Big Illustration Party Time 1 Science! My Bootleg table Robot Sketches 4 Robot Sketches 4 Robot Sketches 3 Robot Sketches 2 Robot Sketches 1 Matt and Tori On the Sly My Suite, the living room and dining area My Suite, the bedroom My Suite, the hot tub My Suite, the bathroom Schlitz bust at The Standard Mike and Miriam at the Doug Fir Onion Head Monster creator Paul Friedrich Stumptown Afterparty at Cosmic Monkey Shavonne and Devon at Thatch Devon and Shavonne with photo of a young Justin Nitz Blowfish Lamp at Thatch Bowl at Thatch

4/24-4/26 Spring Open Studios

Jason Dryg's Workspace at The Local 303

Come check out my newest paintings and drawings as well as lots of "works in progress" during Open Studios April 24th, 25th, and 26th. If that doesn't get you in, let me tell you that there will also be killer new works from Dave Garvey, Matt Delight, and Jason Dryg. Still not convinced? Fine, you've forced my hand. There will be brownie-bites from Jasmine Rae Bakery (while they last).

Officially titled, the "Mission Spring Studio Stroll", 1890 Bryant St. Studios is opening their doors to the public. Our space, The Local 303 is on the 3rd floor in #303. Below are some links to more information about the event and a slide show of the promotional postcards from other artists at 1890.

1890 Bryant St. Studios Website: www.1890bryant.com

The Local 303 Website: www.local303.org

3/22 5pm-12am Benefit for Al's Comics at Cellspace!

Come to Cellspace for Al's Comics benefit event! There will be lots of Bay Area artists, performers, and other weirdness (including Al himself!). I'll be set up with the other artists, selling prints and doing sketches. Please stop by and say hello if you are in the area.

Sunday, March 22nd
5pm-12am
Cell Space
2050 Bryant St., San Francisco

Here's a link to the event on Laughing Squid:
http://laughingsquid.com/benefit-for-als-comics-at-cellspace

The Local 303 Turns 3!


Matt in a Fez, originally uploaded by joshuaellingson.

Last week, a few of us from the building got together to celebrate our art space's 3rd anniversary. I still feel like we just moved in, but we've had some great times already. "303" veterans SomaFM played music from their Secret Agent station while we ate fancy cheese and sipped rum punch (it's making a comeback!).
Here's a flickr set of my photos from the history of The Local 303:

Solo Show at South Carolina State

South Carolina State University's art department has invited me to showcase artwork in their FAB Gallery. The show will feature a selection of my new series "Carrying Home", an exploration of growing up in semi-rural Michigan at my grandparents' farmhouse.

"I've got so many memories from that place. Because my grandparents
were antique collectors, the house was loaded with interesting stuff.
I was always in the workshop with Grandpa, working on a duck decoy or
fashioning my own ninja weapon from chair legs. The house was
completely rebuilt by my grandfather, and they even built a big red
barn out back. My mother, my aunts and my uncle grew up in that house
too so there's just so much history. Most of this series is about
keeping that home and those memories close to me, carrying it with me.
I don't know what I'm going to do when it's gone."

The show goes up March 23rd and runs through April 14th, 2009. There's more information about SCSU's FAB Gallery at http://www.scsufabgallery.blogspot.com/

More information on the show is on SCSU's website here http://www.scsu.edu/event_details.aspx?event_id=317

Below is "Den 1", from the series.

Den 1